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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

I broke down each position group immediately following the Super Bowl predicting what would happen, player-by-player. Now is the right time to see where things stand heading into the draft.

Secondary

Things are progressing on plan here.

WHAT I GOT RIGHT

Earl Thomas extended

Added depth at nickel corner (Phillip Adams)

Walter Thurmond leaves

Brandon Browner leaves

Chris Maragos leaves

WHAT I GOT WRONG

Jeron Johnson was tendered

Richard Sherman headed toward extension

What have we learned?

Not a whole lot. We knew this was a strength of the team, and that the front office would do what was necessary to retain them. The biggest surprise here was that Sherman appears headed for an extension without needing to go through the whole acrimony of a franchise tag next year. He obviously does not want to get the average of the top five players at his position. He wants to set the bar, as his teammate Thomas just did. Exiting the off-season with both Thomas and Sherman extended would be a huge accomplishment, and allow the team to start making downstream decisions on other players whose contracts are nearing an end.

Signing Adams was an under-the-radar addition that addressed a real need. He is a very capable nickel corner, and will compete with Jeremy Lane and Akeem Auguste for the role. The Seahawks may choose to add more competition there, but they no longer need to.

Draft expectations

Safety is a question mark. Johnson is on the roster, and DeShawn Shead is a promising young player, but that is not a lot of depth at such an important position in this defense. If the Seahawks can find a promising young safety, they will likely jump on him. Expect at least one safety added from the undrafted pool as well.